A/N: Hey, everyone! Welcome to my first one-shot! Surprised?

I know I have never posted a one-shot once during my time here (or I probably did, but I didn't like how it turned out and later deleted it). But now, I have become tempted to do it for three reasons. One: I wanted to see if I could actually do it. Two: I needed the creative exercise, and to break a little mold that I encased myself in. Two: it was imperative that I did it in order to test out something else. I can't divulge any details about what I'm testing out, not here, but I already have the entire explanation up on my profile, if you're so inclined to know.

Anyway, as my first (and possibly only) one-shot, this is going to be unique, a complete deviation from what I usually do in the "Pokémon" fandom. As I write this, I'm not sure what to expect from myself. All that I know is that I need to have this completed and posted whenever I can get to it. I hope this will be a positive writing experience for me in some way. You'll find out my subsequent reaction in the concluding Author's Note.

Oh, and one last little addendum for people are new to my stories! I urge you to check my profile, especially if you have an account here. I don't think I should go into specifics here, but let's just say that there's a little problem going about that's affecting users here. It's best if you learn more on my profile.

Alright, on with my first one-shot! ENJOY!

P.S.: If you didn't watch the first movie's tie-in, "The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin" (which I presume a good number of you already have), then a lot of this content might not make sense to you. I urge you to do so if you haven't; not only is it a powerful and gripping short, but it also brings further context into Mewtwo's backstory.

Disclaimer: All forms of "Pokémon" DO NOT belong to me in any way whatsoever! All rights of ownership automatically go to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Pokémon Company International!

"Maybe it makes a difference to you if you're a Pokémon or a person, but not to me."

Mewtwo blinked and stared back up at the starry sky. The Moon was still there, shining as brightly as ever. Much to the cloned Pokémon's annoyance, it wasn't a full Moon, his favorite lunar phase; instead, it was in its waxing gibbous phase. It was almost full, almost ready to show its true power and magnificence to the world. That was why Mewtwo liked full Moons. If one didn't think any better, they'd think the full Moon was a Sun.

He had been standing at the top of this human-made mountain for probably a few minutes, but to him, it seemed like an eternity had passed. It always felt that way whenever he took the time to ponder his existence some more, but recently, these lapses of time were becoming especially poignant.

Lately, his mind had been filling with strange and incomprehensible thoughts. Memories. Fragmented memories, but the thoughts were memories nonetheless.

When he first started experiencing them, Mewtwo didn't know what to think of them. At first, he tried to dismiss them as childish daydreams, the act of being lost in thought. But as time passed and his mind started to recall more and more of these vague, strange occurrences, Mewtwo realized that these were actually events he was involved in. He was floating above a surreal town. He was staring at a surreal Sun and Moon. He was asking questions a child should ask. He was watching a flurry of twinkling sparkles...

And yet, Mewtwo couldn't remember what exactly had occurred. The memories he experienced felt incomplete, like they were pieces of a shattered rock. The only thing they had in common was the voice that had been speaking to him, the young but wise voice. For once, he realized the limitation of his psychic powers: no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't will his own brain to restore these fragmented memories.

For the first couple of weeks he had to endure this, he despised himself for this inability. He felt just as incapable as the humans he mostly despised. But as the days went by, and he continued to recover more grains of imperfect memories, Mewtwo grew more comfortable with the circumstances. The more he heard that voice, the more he would feel at ease.

No, not at ease. It was something more than that. It was something he could feel in his heart, something that he didn't want to leave. Was that sensation what the humans call...happiness...?

Was he feeling happy at this very moment?

All of a sudden, that strange emotion was washed away by the familiar feeling of somber emptiness. It always followed moments of ease, or happiness, or whatever foreign sensation Mewtwo thought he was experiencing. It didn't take much of a strained thought for him to conclude why that was so.

After all, whoever the speaker was, it was clear to him that he would never hear her voice again. It frustrated the clone, to think that something happened, something beyond his control, and his powers were no good to him for this moment. He couldn't even remember what had transpired! He felt so weak, so incomplete! He couldn't save her...

He couldn't help but realize the irony of his amnesia, given that he himself subjected the exceptional human, the one-of-a-kind Ash Ketchum, and his friends to that same condition a lifetime ago. Perhaps this was some sort of poetic justice that knew no cosmic bounds.

Perhaps he deserved it.

At that moment, Mewtwo's eyesight became blurry. At first, he wondered if he had been subjected to an ambush by his creator, the evil Giovanni. But then, he felt his cheeks become wet, and, with a swish of his cloak, he easily lifted an arm to wipe them. Mewtwo looked at his wrist and saw a glittering liquid residue there.

"Don't cry, Mewtwo. You should be happy. You're alive, and life is wonderful."

Mewtwo took a long, deep breath and looked back at the shining Moon.

Those three sentences were the most complete memory he had of the speaker, a memory he slowly and painstakingly assembled throughout the years of his life. But even then, he still didn't understand the context behind them. He didn't understand why he was crying. He didn't understand why life would be so wonderful, even now. He may have realized that he had a place in this world, but still, life felt a little empty for him. Something was still missing. It had to have been whoever spoke those words, since Mewtwo felt an obvious longing for her companionship again. It was strange.

Ever since the events of Mount Quena, Mewtwo had led a life of solitude, protecting Pokémon whenever and wherever he could. He never had the time to stop and make friends with anyone. He thought he was used to it. But never before had the loneliness felt so crushing. And yet, he couldn't rectify his problem. He couldn't bring her back to him. Not when he didn't even know what exactly happened between them. All that he had left of her were these partial memories.

"Life is wonderful," Mewtwo repeated in his thoughts. Then, he narrowed his eyes inquisitively at the distant Moon, as if beckoning it to address his confusion. "But...why...?"

"But...why...?"

Somewhere on the other side of the world, another Mewtwo stared up just as inquisitively at the Moon. She could have sworn she heard something, someone, talking in the distance. It sounded so strangely familiar...

In that small, seemingly trivial moment, she felt the somber emptiness fade, exposing something else within. Something better in her heart, something that she didn't want to leave.

Was that sensation what the humans call...happiness...?

A/N: Huh. I actually enjoyed writing this. I probably should do this a little more often.

Anyway, as you can see, not only did I write a small follow-up to "The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin", but I also made the EXTREMELY controversial Mewtwo from "Genesect and the Legend Awakened" a separate character in my fanon. As undoubtedly strange as it was for them to introduce a second, female Mewtwo in this movie, I didn't see the sacrilege in that at all. In fact, I thought this Mewtwo could've been an interesting character who would bring the original Mewtwo's story arc to unexpected new heights. I wish the rabid section of the fanbase didn't freak out about the new Mewtwo; if the producers and writers were REALLY smart, they could've salvaged something awesome from this strange premise. Sadly, it looks like they saw the outrage and are now trying to distance themselves from this interpretation.

If you don't like the new Mewtwo, that's completely alright with me, but don't give me flak for including her in this one-shot and ruining whatever poignancy I was setting up for the original Mewtwo. If you are going to give criticism, make sure it's 100% constructive. Thank you.

All of that aside, since I found writing this one-shot enjoyable, I have decided to brand it as a planting of a seed, if you will, for a fanfic project that I have planned for 2020, when Generation VIII will be in full swing. It's a rewrite of a fanfic that I tried to write a long while back, but have since deleted out of dissatisfaction, called "Judgment's Fall". It featured a subplot where the male and female Mewtwo meet for the first time and become enemies due to certain reasons, and it was supposed to culminate in a badass duel. I planned on bringing that back in the rewrite since day one, and I thought I'd plant the seed for that with this one-shot.

So yeah, you can expect a sequel to this...in less than two years. I know, I know, quite the wait, huh? Yay... But I want the rewrite to be set during the Generation VIII saga of the anime, since brand-new core series games are said to be on the way and I don't want the fic to be outdated within the next year.

Well, hope you enjoyed my first one-shot! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!